USFS To Limit ATV Use In Kaibab Forest

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A new edict from the U.S. Forest Service will restrict ATV travel in Northern Arizona’s Kaibab National Forest to established roads.

The Forest Service plans to reverse a longtime policy of letting ATV riders drive where they want in the forest, near Williams, by August. The agency may also close about 25 percent of those forest roads — largely ones that parallel other roads.

Williams District Ranger Martie Schramm told the Sierra Vista Herald the goal is to satisfy powersports enthusiasts as well as hikers and those given to more serene sporting pursuits.

Similar measures are proposed for the nearby Coconino National Forest around Flagstaff, but details haven’t been released yet. Both changes are part of a broader USFS mandate to limit motorized travel in forests to existing roads.